The Course of Love Drabbles
by Aranel Took
Summary: Drabbles inspired by my story The Course of Love.


_Course of Love_ drabbles! If you want to know how these came to be, an explanation is in the first set of _Roots of the Ivy_ drabbles.

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**Rider of the Mark**

_Words used: broom, skirt, horse, tweak_

Ari galloped his mearas out onto the battlefield, sword held high as he advanced on his foes. The orcs would not win this day against the...

"I'm going to tell Gran you're dragging that broom through the dirt!"

Ari stopped and stuck his tongue out at his sister. He turned, whipping his cloak haughtily at Willow, and took his broom-horse back into Brandy Hall. All right, so his cloak was an old skirt from a side table, but still...

"What are you doing, Ari-lad?" Grandad asked, tweaking his nose.

Ari grinned. "I'm going to be a Rider of the Mark."

* * *

**Foreplay, or This Means War!**

_Words used: covered, out, war_

Goldi yawned and made her way to her guest room at the Great Smials. Rose and Daisy had gone to bed a while ago, but Goldi had stayed up far too late listening to Uncle Merry and Uncle Pippin tell stories.

She opened the door quietly, trying not to wake her sisters. She set the candle on the bedside table and turned back the covers.

She covered her mouth with her hand at the sight of the bullfrog in her bed, gaping up at her with huge eyes. "Faramir!" she muttered. She scowled and picked up the frog. This means war!

* * *

**A Hobbit in Uniform**

Pippin began to remove his armor, but Ivy's hands stopped his. "Leave it on," she whispered. She pushed him back onto the huge bed and crawled up to straddle his legs.

"When I saw the painting again today," she said, "I remembered how it made me feel when I was a girl." She ran her hands over the White Tree embroidered on his coat. "How handsome you looked then." She leaned down to whisper in his ear. "How handsome you are now."

She sat up and lifted the edge of the coat. Her hands found the ties to his breeches.

* * *

**Love**

_Words used: disease, companion, nightingale, horizon_

Fluttering heart. Shortness of breath. Butterflies in the stomach. Perhaps love was a disease, Theo thought. But it was certainly a nice disease to have.

He smiled at his companions. Rose was crouched down, pointing out a nightingale to his nieces. She brushed a curl from her face. The sun was dipping below the horizon and the light made her red hair flame.

Rose stood up, taking Eoleof and Stel's hands, and turned to him. She gave him a brilliant smile.

Theo smiled back and thanked all of the Valar--and Queen Arwen, too--that he had his love back.

* * *

**Yes**

_Words used: limit, exhaled, passion, water, sound _

Eomer exhaled the breath he'd been holding and stared into Moira's eyes.

"Yes?" he asked, incredulously. He'd pushed the limits of his courage to ask her to marry him, an unusually rash decision for him. They hadn't been seeing each other long, after all, and it wouldn't really have surprised him if she'd turned him down and--

His thoughts were interrupted by a kiss, full of passion, and for a few moments all he was aware of was her warm mouth and the sound of the rushing water of the Brandywine.

She pulled back to look at him, smiling. "Yes."

* * *

**Grown Up**

"Happy Birthday, Fari."

Faramir looked up at his father and smiled. "Thanks, Dad." Things were finally settling between them, the old hurts healed. Now they could move ahead.

Pippin grinned. "I'm supposed to give you advice on becoming an adult today, but as you've already got a wife--and a baby on the way--I think we can skip that." They both glanced over at a heavily pregnant Goldi, laughing with her parents.

His dad lay a hand on his shoulder. "I know it hasn't been easy for you lately. But I want you to know I'm proud of you."

* * *

**Ritual**

_Words used: ritual, square, notice, sentence_

Goldi swung herself out of bed and padded over to the baby's crib in what had become a ritual in this first week of her son's life. She picked him up, cradling him in one arm while grabbing a clean square of cloth with the other.

Once he was dry, she settled herself into the rocking chair by the window to nurse him. She glanced up at her husband, still sound asleep. She had never been annoyed that Fari didn't notice the baby's cries. She giggled. He could barely manage a coherent sentence in the morning, let alone a diaper.

* * *

**Pride**

_Words used: curve, nervous, opinionated, artistry_

Frodo Gamgee carefully followed the curve of the walkway, turning the soil in preparation for the seedlings. He was just a bit nervous because it was his first job working all by himself.

Opinionated hobbits had been stopping by the gate all day to give him gardening advice. But Gammer Dahlia would just shoo them away. "You leave that lad be! He's a Gamgee! He knows what he's doing!"

Frodo would blush and smile at that. He knew he didn't yet have the artistry of his dad, but he allowed himself a bit of pride at her confidence in him.

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Author's Notes:

Please let me know what you think of these!


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